CARSON, Calif. – LA Galaxy brass are mulling their roster options for 2014, determining which players will return and which will be jettisoned, so it's a time of uncertainty for several key players, including Sean Franklin and Marcelo Sarvas.
Franklin (above), a right-sided defender/midfielder who has been an LA starter since his Rookie of the Year campaign in 2008, is waiting to hear whether the Galaxy will pick up his option. Sarvas, a Brazilian central midfielder who has been with the club for two seasons, is out of contract.
The 28-year-old Franklin, whose future probably is on the right wing in midfield, says he expects to be back, but head coach Bruce Arena has asked for more consistency and a greater impact on the attack, and salary-cap concerns could be an issue.
“We haven't made any decisions on what we're doing with players that have options right now,” Arena said last week. “A majority of the players have options.”
Franklin says he hasn't given much thought to negotiations, that he hasn't considered what would occur if the Galaxy wanted to lower his salary, that it's all “something to discuss between Bruce and my agents. When the time comes to sit down and talk to them, then we'll talk,” he said.
He says he was “disappointed” in his season.
“I told myself in January, I wrote on a piece of paper that I wanted five goals and five assists, and I got two goals and three assists,” Franklin said. “I'm frustrated I didn't meet a personal goal. I didn't play at my top level, but that's something I want to get better in the offseason.”
Sarvas, 32, started all but one MLS game and was the Galaxy's most consistently fine performer, but he says he doesn't “know what's going to happen.”
“Of course [I want to stay with the Galaxy]. My family is happy to be here in Los Angeles,” he said. “The Galaxy is the biggest club in US, so, of course, but in soccer you have to sit and talk and see the options. There are more options on the table, so you have to see what's the best.”
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No decision has been made, the Galaxy staff says, but they want Sarvas in the midfield next year.
“We plan on [bringing him back], it's important,” associate head coach Dave Sarachan said. “He had a great year for us, in terms of consistency and having the balance of winning tackles and covering ground and getting forward. Having him back is obviously going to be an important part of our roster.”
And Franklin?
“All of that's going to be looked at closely over the next few weeks, to be honest,” Sarachan said. “What moves we need to make and where we need to add or delete, and at this point, it's still all up in the air. In terms of Sean or Marcelo or any of these guys, those discussions will happen and decisions will be made.”
